The Birth of Radio
As you enter the Museum, the displays start with the beginning of radio, or wire-less telegraphy, as it was first called. Before wireless, the only means of long range communication was the telephone, and you can use a telephone exchange of the type in use from the 1920s to listen to Guiglielmo Marconi explain how he came to Britain in the 1890s to further his experiments.
Visitors can dial 'M' for Marconi, and hear the story for themselves.
Marconi's discoveries led to the use of wireless as a means of Morse code communication with shipping, and later on it was realised that voice and even music could be sent. The possibilities of this as a public service were realised by the main manufacturers of wireless equipment, who set up the British Broadcasting Company in 1922.
Examples of wireless sets from the 1920s are shown in the display case. At first, wireless was more of a hobby than an entertainment or information medium.
The simplest receiver was a crystal set, which used a mineral crystal (usually Galena) as a rectifier, and enabled the listener to tune in the station on headphones, assuming they were within range of a station, had a 100 foot long aerial, and could locate a sensitive part of the crystal using a wire probe called a "cat's whisker".
To obtain greater range or volume, a valve receiver was needed. This was much more expensive - a valve could cost a week's wages and was easily damaged. Valve radios required electricity from batteries, a large High Tension battery giving about 120 volts, and a Low Tension accumulator, which could be recharged like a modern mobile phone or laptop battery. The difference was, it weighed several pounds and could spill corrosive acid. Most radio owners had two, one to use and one being charged. Cycle shops and garages, as well as wireless dealers would recharge accumulators for about 6d.
One person could listen on headphones, but for a family to 'listen in' a loud-speaker was needed. These at first were metal or wooden horns fixed to a telephone receiver. Visitors can compare the sound of an early Horn speaker with the later Moving Iron cone speaker, and the Moving Coil type, which appeared just before 1930. This is the type we still use today.
Many enthusiasts built their own sets. There are examples of these, and of the components that could be bought for home construction.
Radio became the latest craze, and was the subject of numerous magazines, postcards, and even puzzles. Examples of these, and the range of parts available for home construction are on display in this area.
Through the window you can see into a 1920s living room, with a young lady trying to hear the latest dance music on the new wireless set, complete with batteries, accumulator and a huge frame aerial.
